Jack sat cross-legged near the fire, his helmet resting beside him as he stared into the flames.

S lounged against Fluffy a few feet away, peeling a tangerine with his usual meticulous care.

"I've been thinking," Jack said, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Always a dangerous sign," S replied, popping a segment of tangerine into his mouth. "What brilliant scheme has your mind concocted this time?"

Jack's yellow eyes remained fixed on the fire. "The vaults are too well-defended for a direct assault. Even if I could break through the barriers and kill the guards, more would show up."

"Agreed. Which is why attacking the vaults directly would be suicide."

"So I'm not going to attack them directly." Jack turned to look at S, and there was something in his expression that made the contract demon pause mid-peel. "I'm going to walk in the front door."

S's red eyes studied Jack's face for a long moment. Then he laughed, the sound rich with genuine amusement.

"Oh, Jack. That's either brilliantly audacious or spectacularly stupid. Please, elaborate."

"My armor," Jack gestured at the black and crimson plates, "looks demonic. With my helmet on, I could pass as any other demon in Pho's fortress."

"Your eyes glow yellow," S pointed out. "That's rather distinctive, considering everyone's calling you the yellow-eyed demon."

"I'm working on that," Jack replied. "But the principle stands. Everyone's looking for a monster in the shadows. No one's looking for a soldier standing in plain sight."

S finished peeling his tangerine, his expression thoughtful. "You want to infiltrate the barracks. Blend in with Pho's forces. Get close to one of the generals before they realize you're not actually one of theirs."

"Exactly."

"That's suicidal." S's smile widened. "I love it."

Jack felt his lips twitch into a small smile. "I thought you might."

"The audacity alone is worth appreciating. Walking into an enemy fortress and simply pretending to belong. It's the kind of plan that either works perfectly or ends in catastrophic failure with no middle ground." S leaned forward slightly. "Which general are you targeting?"

"Whoever presents the best opportunity. If I can get close to Kaedor in the vaults, perfect. If Rynath happens to be in the barracks when I'm there, even better. The point is to be in position when the moment comes."

"And if they ask questions? Demand to know your assignment? Your commanding officer?"

"Then I kill them before they can alert anyone else," Jack said simply. "The chaos from Kragoth's death should provide enough confusion that one more guard going missing won't raise immediate alarms."

S nodded slowly, his red eyes gleaming with something that might have been approval. "You've thought this through."

"I've had time to think."

Before S could respond, the sound of footsteps on ice drew their attention. Kyren emerged from the shadows, his hollow eyes fixed on Jack with that characteristic emotionless intensity.

Corvin rode on the reanimated demon's head, looking remarkably pleased with himself.

"Master," Kyren said, his voice carrying no inflection despite the importance of his report. "This one has returned. This one has scouted. This one brings information."

Jack stood, his full attention shifting to his servant. "What did you find?"

"Vaults are very protected," Kyren stated, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Many guards. This one counted fifty guards. Then this one lost count. Bird counted more guards. Bird is better at counting."

CAW!

"This one saw barriers. Magic barriers. Shiny barriers. Mages were making barriers more shiny. This one thinks barriers getting stronger."

"The security increased?" Jack's eyes narrowed. "When?"

"Today. This one saw guards adding more guards. Mages adding more magic. Everyone very afraid." Kyren tilted his head. "This one thinks Master killed someone important. Guards are very afraid of Master."

Jack exchanged a glance with S, who was smiling with that knowing expression that suggested he'd expected this exact development.

"Kragoth's death is making them paranoid," Jack said. "Good. Fear makes people sloppy. They'll be so focused on external threats they won't notice one more soldier among their ranks."

"This one also saw strange metal," Kyren added. "Not ice metal. Not stone metal. Not demon metal. Strange metal. This one did not understand strange metal. Bird also did not understand strange metal."

'I wonder what material it is.' Jack thought.

But that was a concern for after the vaults were secured.

"You did well," Jack said to Kyren. "Both of you. The intelligence will be useful."

Kyren's hollow eyes seemed to brighten slightly, though his expression remained unchanged. "This one is pleased. This one did not fail Master. Bird also did not fail Master."

CAW CAW!

"Bird is good bird," Kyren agreed solemnly.

Jack turned back to the fire. The increased security at the vaults confirmed his suspicions. They were afraid

He reached into his system storage and pulled out three items, setting them on the ground near the fire where the light could illuminate them properly.

A small pouch of red sand, fine-grained and the color of dried blood.

A collection of demon bones, already ground into powder.

A vial of demon blood, thick and dark.

S watched with interest as Jack arranged the materials. "What are you doing?"

"Solving the eye problem," Jack replied, pulling out a small metal bowl he'd scavenged weeks ago.

He poured the red sand into the bowl first, then added a measured amount of the bone powder.

Finally, the demon blood, thick drops falling into the mixture.

"This one does not understand," Kyren observed, tilting his head as he watched Jack work.

"You're not supposed to," Jack said, stirring the mixture with a small stick. "Just watch."

He positioned the bowl over the fire, careful not to let it get too hot. The mixture began to bubble almost immediately, the three components merging together into something that looked disturbingly organic.

"Where did you learn this?" S asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

Jack didn't answer immediately. The truth was, the system had provided the information weeks ago when he'd been experimenting with demon materials.

A recipe, of sorts, in the Demon Compendium.

[Basic Mixture: Changes eye color for 12 days. Ingredients: Red sand, demon bone powder, demon blood. Heat until consistency thickens, then cool.]

"Experimentation," Jack said finally, which wasn't entirely a lie. "You learn things when you work with materials long enough."

The mixture thickened as it cooked, becoming paste-like in consistency. The smell was unpleasant, somewhere between sulfur and burnt hair, but Jack had smelled worse during his time in the tower.

After several minutes, he removed the bowl from the fire and set it aside to cool. The paste had turned a deep crimson color, almost black in the flickering firelight.

"And this will change your eye color?" S asked skeptically.

"According to the principles I've learned, yes." Jack waited patiently as the mixture cooled, occasionally testing its temperature with a careful touch of his finger.

"The demon blood carries transformative properties. The bone powder provides structure. The red sand acts as a binding agent and pigment source."

"This one thinks Master is very smart," Kyren said with complete sincerity.

CAW!

"Bird agrees Master is smart."

When the paste had cooled enough to handle safely, Jack scooped a small amount onto his fingers. The texture was strange, slightly sticky but not unpleasant.

"This is either going to work," Jack said, "or I'm going to be blind for a few hours while my eyes recover. Either way, we'll know soon enough."

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